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20 Things You Don’t Know About Me

Find out 20 things you don’t know about me! Get to know Chris Nease better, and find out what’s on my mind, here.

Around this time every year I become very reflective about this blog space and where it’s going. This year, maybe more than any other, I feel a pull to expand what I do here. In the fall of 2018 I will have been blogging for 10 years; that’s a dinosaur in this arena! My focus has always been parties and entertaining which has been my passion for 20 years, but I find myself wanting to represent more than that. I’m not exactly sure how that looks in the big scheme of things, but I’ve always dabbled with home decor, travel, and fashion blog posts along the way so maybe I’ll explore those more.

This year I’m going to do some soul searching and possibly experimenting with new ideas. For one thing I feel like I’ve got some serious life experience behind me that could help to advise the ‘under 35’ crowd out there. I read a lot of online articles with tips about life, but they’re all written by 30-somethings. Why not share my perspective?…someone over 40 who’s been there, done that! Maybe I’ll share some personal struggles too, as part therapy session for me-part support system for others.

I’ll always be working on fun entertaining content to bring your way, but in addition, I’ll be trying to figure things out for the future too.

Right now though, I thought it would be amusing to share some little known facts about my self. Inspired by this post and others like it on Instagram and around the web, I decided I’d open up and share some interesting details about “me.” FYI, the photos here are the ones I styled during a workshop I attending in the Fall where we practiced flat lays & table settings, learned brush calligraphy & flower arranging, and studied business & planning strategies. Photography by Blue Barn Photography.

20 Things You Don’t Know About Me

I grew up in farm country in Wendell, NC until my parents divorced when I was 9. My mom, sister and I moved to the city (Raleigh) for a new life, and we ended up moving 3 times in 3 years, which meant 3 different schools in 4th, 5th, and 6th grades…

If I hadn’t started this blog 9 years ago (which turned into a career) I honestly have NO idea what I’d be doing right now. After being a stay-at-home mom for eight years I couldn’t imagine going back to work in the corporate world. I was definitely in the right place at the right time when I started all of this.

When it comes to vacations and travel I’m a city girl. I have no desire to go to a tropical beach destination! Other things I don’t get into that “everyone” else likes: DisneyLand/World, Game of Thrones, raw fish sushi.

I was Homecoming queen in high school…however I’ve always felt like a misfit, not fitting into any particular “group.”

When I was 18 I purchased an entire set of china, crystal, flatware, and cookware. I bought it on a payment plan and needless to say, when I got married there was no need to register for china/crystal. I still have, and use everything – the china is very simple and classic with silver banding, so it’ll never go out of style.

It’s not uncommon for me to be the first person on the dance floor. I’ve gotten more than one dance party started!

One of the traits I find most admirable in a person is the ability to genuinely connect with people and make them feel appreciated and understood.

I really don’t like change. I prefer the mantra, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” However, I do believe in personal growth, and evolving as a person.

My biggest pet peeve is when people use “I” in a sentence when they should be using “me”…as in, “come to the party with Chuck and I.” NO! It should be “Come to the party with Chuck and me.” The use of “I” has gotten out of control, people!!

I’m a ‘social introvert’. I LOVE spending time with friends and going out, but I HATE small talk and forced socialization. I need lots of down time in order to function well and recharge.

I live by the motto “don’t make things more complicated than they need to be.” For me that manifests itself in the fact that we’ve never raised our children running from one activity to the next to the next; we don’t own pets; we try to live within our means and plan for the future; I don’t have chaotic people in my life; I try to make decisions based on logic rather than feelings.

I never traveled outside the US until my mid-20’s and we went to Cozumel, Mexico. I later spent a month in France while my husband worked on a special project there. I rode the train into Paris a few days a week, and we took a road trip through the Loir Valley and on to Mont Saint Michel. We visited the beaches of Normandy, the WW2 American cemetery, and spent the night in Bayeux (the first city liberated after the battle). During that month we also took a side trip to Rome.

I was never that girl who had dreams or thoughts about weddings, marriage, or babies. When I met the right guy (my husband) it all magically changed. I often say I think more like a guy than a chick.

While I adore my current career, my DREAM job would be as a travel writer. To be able to travel the world, stay at amazing hotels, have amazing experiences, and eat amazing food…then get paid to write about it? YASSSS!

Two of my all-time favorite tv shows are Sex in the City, and Mad Men. I can watch any episode over and over and over again.

I met my husband at the gym, and later realized he was “the hot guy” my roommate had been telling me to check out! LOL

I had always been called “Chrissy” which I never liked; I shortened to “Chris” when we moved to Virginia almost 20 years ago. It’s all short for Christina.

Well, that’s a little bit about me. If you have any feedback about the blog and it’s direction please leave a comment. Cheers!

I love this post Chris! This year I started two new blog series called Target Tuesday {because let’s face it, I can’t be trusted in Target because I LOVE it SOOOOOO much} and Fab Friday Finds, where I share home decor and fashion I am currently crushing on! I have really loved curating content for both of these series and I get to share my other interests besides tablescapes and parties! Love you girl!!

Girlfriend, we have so much in common! 🙂 science documentaries, dance floor antics, thinking “like a guy”, hating small talk, also no crazy kids activities for us, also never dreamed about weddings or babies, love SATC and I also don’t get sushi…But, I draw the line at Game of Thrones! I binge watch that one! lol Loved getting to know you better and look froward to your interior design posts, I loved what you did on the blog so far and drooled over your style! ♥

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The most important thing about parties & entertaining is the guest list! Next, it should be delicious, beautiful, unique, and fun. Calling on my years of experience, I’ll show you how to pull it all together with style. Cheers!

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Meet Chris

Chris Nease is a party stylist and home entertaining expert with over 15 years of experience. In addition to her work as founding editor of Celebrations At Home, Chris is an editorial stylist and has contributed to Homes.com, SheKnows, and countless other websites. Most recently she was featured in Celebrate magazine, and her work has been published in Woman's World, Ocala Style, Yum Food & Fun for Kids, and Cottages & Bungalows.